Springfield, Pennsylvania (Bradford County)
We visited Springfield, Pennsylvania, in Fall of 2002 as part of our New York City trip. It's a 4 hour drive from NYC to Springfield and quite a scenic drive, especially in the areas near the Susquehanna River (photo left). Being fall of the year, the leaves were changing and with the rolling hills, it is truly a beautiful area. While there I planned on doing research on John and Jerusha Hawley and the Cleveland family. As with the other towns the Hawley family has lived in, Springfield is a small town surrounded by rural farm land. I first came across Springfield in my search for John and Jerusha Hawley in the 1850 census. It is here that the Cleveland and Hawley families come together. Jerusha was born in Springfield March 3, 1819 to Daniel and Clarissa Ely Cleveland. The land deed shows that Daniel bought the land in Springfield in 1818 (deed to the right). Jerusha and John Hawley (I) married in Springfield January 1, 1840. They lived and raised a family until 1854, when they sold the property and house to a D. Fanning (as seen on plat map), and moved to Lawton, Michigan.
Our first stop was the Wetona Cemetery, just east of Daniel Cleveland's property. There are no Hawley's buried in the
cemetery, but there are several Clevelands, including Jerusha's mother, Clarrissa (grave photo). Daniel Cleveland's property
is just a field, the house having been torn down a long time ago (photo).
A little north of Daniel's property on Young Road is
School house #14, probably where Jerusha and maybe her children, went to school.
The building is no longer there (
photo). Continuing on Young Road and turning East on Beardslee Road just over the hill,
the property of John and Jerusha comes into view (photo). Ironically, the house
is painted the same color as the house the Hawley's lived in in Michigan, light blue. The layout of the house and barn
is almost exactly the same as in Michigan as well. There is a very old barn (wood and stone) behind the house. I am
not sure how old it is or what the story behind it is, but I enjoyed looking in it. The elderly couple living there
were kind enough to show us around, a great step back in time!
The Clevelands 1
Daniel Cleveland, Jerusha's father, moved to Springfield, Pennsylvania in 1816. There he built a flour mill which he operated for a few years, and then, after the death of his wife, Clarissa Ely (grave photo) he moved to Fairview, Iowa. He died there on February 2, 1876. While in Iowa, he writes to Jerusha's son and talks about his life there. He also wants the address of Martin Hawley, his nephew (son of John and Jerusha), as he wants to write him letter. Martin eventually leaves Lawton, Michigan and moves to Iowa for about 10 years before heading to Garnet, Kansas. Martin's son, Walter is born in Iowa.
History of Springfield, PA 1, 5
Springfield was so named in remembrance of Springfield, Massachusetts, the former home of a large number of its pioneers. The township was first called "Murraysfield," the name of the grant made by the Susquehanna Company, 1795, to Rev. Noah Murray, a celebrated Universalist preacher, who died in the town, 1811, in his seventy-fifth year.
Among the first pioneers of Springfield in 1817 were Joseph Brooks from Massachusetts, Daniel Cleveland and Joseph Stacy. 1818 -- Quartus Ely. 1819 -- Amos Sargent and John Sargent from Massachusetts, and Stephen Smith, Vermont. 1822 -- David Brown from Connecticut, Joseph Guild, Massachusetts, Alexander Kennedy, Vermont, Hiram Potter, Vermont. 1824 -- Clark Hooker, Massachusetts, William Salisbury, Massachusetts.
More about Springfield ...
PHOTOS
All Springfield, PA Photos
from 2002 trip
DOCUMENTS
Land Records
Daniel Cleveland
Deed 1 (partial-pdf)
Deed 2 (partial-pdf)
Deed 3 (partial-pdf)
John Hawley
Deed 1 (partial-pdf)
Deed 2 (partial-pdf)
Plat Map
1869 Springfield, PA Plat Map
D. Cleveland and D. Fanning in District 14 (John and Jerusha sold their house to D. Fanning)
In Books
The following are experts from:
The genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland families: an attempt to trace in both the male and the female lines the posterit and
All Records of the descendants of Nathaniel Ely: the emigrant, who settled first in Newtown, now Cambridge, Mass.
Jerusha Bushnell Cleveland Hawley
(and her children)
Jerusha Bushnell Cleveland Hawley
(and Quartus, her brother)
Daniel Cleveland
(Daniel Cleveland and children)
John Cleveland
(father of Daniel Cleveland)
WHO LIVED HERE...
John and Jerusha Hawley
Daniel and Clarissa Cleveland
PHOTOS
All Springfield, PA Photos
from 2002 trip
DOCUMENTS
Land Records
Daniel Cleveland
Deed 1 (partial-pdf)
Deed 2 (partial-pdf)
Deed 3 (partial-pdf)
John Hawley
Deed 1 (partial-pdf)
Deed 2 (partial-pdf)
Plat Map
1869 Springfield, PA Plat Map
D. Cleveland and D. Fanning in District 14 (John and Jerusha sold their house to D. Fanning)
In Books
The following are experts from:
The genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland families: an attempt to trace in both the male and the female lines the posterit and
All Records of the descendants of Nathaniel Ely: the emigrant, who settled first in Newtown, now Cambridge, Mass.
Jerusha Bushnell Cleveland Hawley
(and her children)
Jerusha Bushnell Cleveland Hawley
(and Quartus, her brother)
Daniel Cleveland
(Daniel Cleveland and children)
John Cleveland
(father of Daniel Cleveland)
WHO LIVED HERE...
John and Jerusha Hawley
Daniel and Clarissa Cleveland